Farmer’s Guide to Trucking Regulations available to Ohio Farm Bureau members
The guide includes a farm driver checklist, overview of state and federal regulations and exemptions, CDL qualifications and more.
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Best practices and expert advice provided by Wright & Moore
Do I need a will? What about a trust? Will an LLC help us? These are some common questions when farm families begin succession planning. While these are important topics to eventually address, they are poor starting points according to Wright & Moore, an Ohio-based agricultural law firm. Instead, you and your family should ask a simple question to kick-off the process: What goals do we want our plan to accomplish?
The succession planning goals you adopt as a family will guide your succession planning process. A few common goals for farm succession planning include:
- Achieve an equal distribution among children
- Help the farming heir cash flow the farming operation
- Generate retirement income
- Avoid probate proceedings
- Protect farmland at all costs
- Minimize negative tax consequences
By no means is this full list. Since each succession plan is unique, families have a menu of dozens of objectives to choose from. Farms and their operators differ greatly, meaning each plan needs some level of customization to address specific needs. Whereas one family might have a simple set of goals, another family might require complex planning tools. It all depends on the unique characteristics of each farm and family.
Question about wills, trusts, LLCs, and other succession planning topics can be very technical. Don’t get bogged down as a family trying to research and learn complex legal issues. Instead, spend time as a family setting the goals for your plan. If you can develop a good set of goals, it becomes much easier for your attorney to assemble a plan that satisfies them.
Once your objectives have been identified, relay them to your professional team to get the succession planning process underway. When the planning process is complete, ask your legal counsel to explain how each goal is satisfied.
Wright & Moore Law Co., LPA has a rich heritage in Ohio agriculture. Since 1988, our firm has proudly assisted farmers, rural residents, and landowners from all over the state with their farm succession planning and agricultural legal needs. We would be happy to discuss your family goals and how to meet them. To learn more about Wright & Moore or schedule a meeting, visit OhioFarmLaw.com.
Labor has always been an issue, mainly because we are a seasonal operation. So that's a challenge finding somebody who only wants to work three months out of a year, sometimes up to six months.
I appreciate the benefit of having a strong voice in my corner. The extras that are included in membership are wonderful, but I'm a member because of the positive impact to my local and state agricultural communities.
I see the value and need to be engaged in the community I live in, to be a part of the decision-making process and to volunteer with organizations that help make our community better.
Farm Bureau involvement has taught me how to grow my professional and leadership experience outside of the workforce and how to do that in a community-centric way.
With not growing up on a farm, I’d say I was a late bloomer to agriculture. I feel so fortunate that I found the agriculture industry. There are so many opportunities for growth.
Knowing that horticulture is under the agriculture umbrella and having Farm Bureau supporting horticulture like it does the rest of ag is very important.
If it wasn't for Farm Bureau, I personally, along with many others, would not have had the opportunity to meet with our representatives face to face in Washington.
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Share named ExploreAg and Youth Development Specialist
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Ohio Farm Bureau Health Benefits Plan now offered to all sole proprietors
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Ohioans can compete for ag business startup funds
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